Summer to Remember
by SkyGem
Summary: In school, he may be known as Dame-Tsuna, but in Italy, where he spent the first five years of his life and where he spends every summer vacation, he's respected as the future Vongola Decimo. He likes keeping his two lives separate. Too bad Boreen-sensei has other ideas. AU. No pairings.
1. Trip

Summary: In school, he may be known as Dame-Tsuna, but in Italy, where he spent the first five years of his life and where he spends every summer vacation, he's respected as the future Vongola Decimo. He likes keeping his two lives separate. Too bad Boreen-sensei has other ideas.

SkyGem: Hey guys! So, this fic was inspired by the lovely and talented xerochitentoppakai's "That Trip to Italy," and the idea was so intriguing, I decided to give it a shot. I hope you all enjoy, yeah?

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><p>It was a hot June day, and Tsuna was sitting in his seat in homeroom, daydreaming about where he would be this time next week; unpacking his things for yet another wonderful summer in his childhood home.<p>

Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, the brunet was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.

Taking it out, he read the text that had just been sent to him courtesy of his best childhood friend, Hayato.

__You look tired; why don't we just ditch the last week of classes and go home a few days early?  
>-Hayato<em>_

Looking up at the silveret, who was sitting only a few seats away from him, Tsuna smiled and shook his head; it was a tempting idea, but Reborn would seriously kill if he even **thought **of trying that.

Looking back down, he shot back a reply, saying:

__I'd love to, but you know we can't do that. Just be patient and before you know it, we'll be on the plane to Italy~  
>-Tuna<em>_

Ignoring the snort he heard come from his storm guardian, Tsuna turned his attention to the front of the class as a murmur picked up among the students.

Nezu-sensei's droning had been interrupted as the door opened to allow the principal to stride in, followed soon after by a certain very familiar infant dressed as a teacher.

Immediately alert at the appearance of his tutor, Tsuna quickly sat up, wondering what the baby could possibly want.

As everyone listened intently, the principal began speaking with quite a happy tone to his voice.

"Congratulations, students of class 2-A! Your class has been randomly chosen for an all-expense paid, two month long field trip to Italy, courtesy of our very generous benefactor, a very close friend of Boreen-sensei!"

There was a moment of dead silence before the rest of Tsuna's class burst into deafening cheers.

Tsuna and his two other guardians, meanwhile, just stared with open mouths.

When the class had finally quieted down, the principal gestured behind him, saying, "Boreen-sensei is here to give you all the details."

And with that, the man excused himself.

The students of class 2-A would have started celebrating again, if only there hadn't been a deadly aura coming from a certain infant-hitman-turned-teacher.

When there was once again pin-drop silence in the room, Boreen-sensei finally spoke up.

"Seeing as this trip has been planned for a while now, all legalities have been dealt with. All that is left to be done is for those who are planning to go on the trip to sign these waivers here, and your passports will be sent to you. The plane to Italy will be leaving at noon the first day of your summer vacation and you will all be arriving back in Japan three days before the beginning of the new term. Any questions?"

"But don't you need our signatures to make passports for us?" asked Minami Miyu.

"No," was Reborn's short reply before asking, "Anyone else?"

"What will we be doing while we're there? There's no project or anything connected to this, is there?" asked Kitanami Kei.

"Your time in Italy has been scheduled as follows; the first week is to be spent in Sicily, getting used to the place that will be your home for two whole months..."

Tsuna didn't hear a thing after hearing the word "Sicily." There could be no way...

Turning to look at Hayato, he saw that his best friend was staring at him with the same expression he must have on his face right now. Then turning to meet Takeshi's eyes, Tsuna saw that the boy looked curious, and it was obvious they were all thinking the same thing.

"Where will we be staying?" asked Kurokawa Hana, and Tsuna saw the corner of Reborn's mouth quirk up sadistically at this question.

Despite the fact that his gaze was still trained on Hana, Tsuna couldn't help but feel that his tutor's next words were directed at him as he said in a smug voice, "The friend of mine who has offered to sponsor this trip has graciously agreed to allow us to stay at his most humble abode, otherwise known as the Vongola main mansion."

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><p>After Boreen-sensei had left, there were only three people in class 2-A who weren't chatting happily about their upcoming trip or their extraordinary luck.<p>

"I can't believe Reborn would do this to me," moaned Tsuna, cradling his head in his arms. "He knows there's no way I can be 'dame-Tsuna' around the Family."

"This is a good thing, though, isn't it Juudaime? Now those idiots will stop belittling you."

"But I don't want them to start liking me because of my position, Hayato! That's why I came here, remember? To get away from all those rab- I mean adoring fans…" The brunet shivered as he said this, as if recalling a painful memory.

"Then what do you want to do?" Takeshi asked his friend, sounding concerned.

Tsuna let out a sigh of defeat as he looked up from his arms and shrugged, saying, "There's only one thing I can do, I guess; respect that sadist's wishes and abandon the 'dame' attitude."

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><p>It was three days before the beginning of the summer vacations, and the school day was almost over when Reborn interrupted Nezu-sensei's lesson, dressed in his Boreen-sensei disguise.<p>

Their teacher quickly wrapped up what he was saying before giving up the floor to the infant.

"Now," said Reborn, looking down at a piece of paper in his hand, "It seems that there are still three students that haven't handed in their waivers. Gokudera Hayato, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and Yamamoto Takeshi; are you three not planning on coming on the trip?"

There was a silence as the two older males looked at Tsuna, and finally the young Don said, "No."

There were gasps of disbelief throughout the class, and there was a snort as someone said, "I always knew Dame-Tsuna was lame; probably doesn't want to be separated from his mommy for too long."

"And why is that?" asked Reborn, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Tsuna, though, wasn't going to cave this time.

"Because summer is one of the only times in the year that I get to spend at home with the Family, and not even you will be allowed to ruin it for me," said the young Decimo, his temper rising. Then, switching to Italian, he said, _"I'm still going to Italy. I just refuse to waste my summer catering to your whims, Reborn."_

And amidst the sudden quiet, the young Don stalked out of the classroom just as the bell rang, his two best friends following him.

Back in the classroom, though, Reborn wasn't upset at all, as one would have expected.

No, in fact, he was smiling, seeing as his plan was unfolding perfectly.

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><p>SkyGem: Well, that's it for chapter one! I hope you guys like it, yes? Oh, and I hope you're not looking for a plot in this, since there really won't be much of one in this fic...Anyways, please do leave a review, yes? Ciao!<p> 


	2. The Heir

After Tsuna and his friends had left, there was silence in the room as everyone tried to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

"Did Dame-Tsuna just talk back to a **teacher**?" asked Aozora Aoki incredulously.

"Never mind that," interrupted Kitanami, "But did he just speak Italian?"

There was a moment of silence before Ohmae Okito let out a snort of amusement and said, "This is dame-Tsuna we're talking about, guys. There's no way he'd know how to speak Italian."

As the rest of the students started laughing as well, Reborn gritted his teeth together in an attempt to stop himself from maiming every single one of them. Nono had specifically instructed that none of Tsuna's classmates were to come to any harm in Reborn's presence, which unfortunately included harm from Reborn himself.

And so, though they didn't know it, the students of class 2-A just barely escaped with their lives that day.

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><p>When Reborn arrived at the Sawada residence that day, it was to see one Sawada Tsunayoshi packing some clothes into a duffel bag.<p>

"What are you doing?" asked the infant, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" asked the brunette irritably. "I'm packing my things to go home! I got permission from mom, dad, **and **grandpa to miss the last two days of school. If those guys will be spending the entire summer at the mansion, I want at least a few days to myself and my guardians."

"You convinced Kyoya to leave the school unattended for two whole days?" asked Reborn, raising an eyebrow and seeming just the slightest bit impressed.

Tsuna smirked. "Of course. All I had to do was remind him that Kusakabe would be there to look after Nami-chuu in his absence and hint at a chance to train with Dino."

Reborn nodded to himself, wondering just when his student had gotten so good at manipulating others.

"Well then," he said, stepping aside to let the brunet past. "Have a good trip."

Tsuna's sharp gaze turned on him when he said this, obviously suspecting something.

"What are you planning?" asked the brunet. He had known his tutor far too long not to suspect that there was definitely something brewing in that cunning little mind of his.

Reborn rolled his eyes at this. "How long have you known me, Dame-Tsuna?" he asked.

"Since I was two," replied the boy immediately. "Why?"

"Have you **ever **known me to disrupt your time with your guardians?"

Tsuna was on the verge of answering, but as he thought back to all the hellish training regimens his tutor had put him through, he realized that his guardians had always been with him. "…No," he reluctantly answered.

"Because it's important for you to have strong relationships with your guardians. It could mean the difference between life and death." Reborn paused for a moment after he said this before moving onto a seemingly unrelated topic. "You may not want them there, but Nono really wants to meet your classmates, and this could be a good chance to recruit more people to your Family."

"But I don't want my classmates to be in my Family!" shouted Tsuna. "They're still innocent kids! They have a bright future ahead of them! They don't need to be pulled into the mafia!"

"The same could be said about you," replied Reborn evenly.

"But I was born into this world!" shouted Tsuna. "I grew up in it! I have a responsibility to my Family! They don't!"

"That doesn't make you much different from them. The only difference is that they have a choice in whether or not to join our world. We agreed long ago that you would have a break from your training during summer, so you can pretend that your classmates aren't there, but when we get back to Japan, I will have a list, and you will have to check everyone on it for eligibility. If you want to reject someone, then you have to give me reason."

And with that, he turned and left the room.

Tsuna stood there for a moment, stunned, before cursing quietly to himself in every language he knew (which was quite a few). Reborn really was a master manipulator. He could either chose to ignore his classmates and just enjoy his summer with his guardians, then later welcome some of those aforementioned classmates into his family, or he could spend his summer tagging along after them and coming up with reasons why they shouldn't be in his family.

As he lugged the small duffel bag of clothes downstairs (everything else would be provided/bought in Italy), the young Don cursed his noble nature.

This was going to be one long summer.

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><p>When the students of class 2-A arrived at the airport the day they were supposed to leave, their excited chattering died away as they were led to a private terminal.<p>

And when they saw what they were going to be flying in, it became so quiet and still, one would have been able to feel the Earth rotate underneath them.

"We're going in **that**?" asked Ryusaki Ruriko.

"There must be some kind of mistake," whispered Chishu Chiaki to himself.

"Just how rich is Boreen-sensei's friend, anyways?" asked Minami incredulously as she stared at the impressive private jet they would supposedly be flying to Italy in.

They would have stood there, staring, all day if the door hadn't suddenly opened and Boreen-sensei stepped out, saying to them, "We will be leaving in ten minutes exactly. If at that time you aren't on board, we are leaving without you."

And at this, everyone immediately clambered on board, hurrying to find seats for themselves and their friends.

When, ten minutes later, everyone was sitting in their seats with their seatbelts on, the plane finally took to the air, and the students all looked out their windows to watch Japan disappear.

There were excited murmurs as people pointed out famous landmarks until finally they had risen above the clouds, and their small island country was no longer visible.

Just as everyone was starting to get bored, though, one of the stewardesses announced over the PA, "Attention passengers, attention passengers. Now that we are airborne, you may explore the plane at your leisure. There are two staircases at the back of the plane leading to the bottom floor, where you will find various amenities available to you to help you pass the time. There are four bathrooms each on both floors, and if at any point during the flight you feel sick, you may find the doctor in his office on the bottom floor, near the front of the plane. Enjoy your flight!"

Once she had finished speaking, the students all looked at each other, as if wondering what to do, before, one by one, they undid their seatbelts and made their way to the back of the plane to see what the bottom floor would be like.

There was a huge gasp as the first student reached the bottom of the staircase, and suddenly, everyone was pushing each other to see what was so amazing.

What they saw made them all gasp in wonder.

There was a spacious living area in front of them with luxurious couches lining the walls and soft, fluffy carpets underfoot. There was a huge television with all the latest entertainment systems on one wall, and about twenty laptops lined up on a table against the other, just waiting to be used.

There even seemed to be a refrigerator in one corner of the large room.

As the students all spread out, looking as if they had died and gone to heaven, most of the students went immediately to either the television or one of the laptops, while a few of the students even went to a bookshelf they'd seen in one corner of the room and settled down with a manga or a novel.

Needless to say, the plane trip went by without a hitch, and by the time the plane landed in Italy, all the students had high hopes about what their next two months would be like.

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><p>There was a huge smile on Tsuna's face as he swallowed the last bite of his lunch.<p>

Turning to look at their chef Celino, who had just walked into the room, Tsuna said to him, _"You know, I love my mom's cooking, but whenever I'm craving Italian food, yours is always what I miss the most."_

The red-haired man beamed proudly at the young Decimo, saying, _"Thank you so much, Decimo! Your praise means more to me than you could ever know!"_

And it was true. Celino, and actually quite a bit of the staff, had worked for the Vongola since before the little brunet was born, and he had watched as the little brown-haired infant they had all adored grew into the confident young man they respected almost as much as Nono. Summer was the time everyone in the Vongola looked forward to the most, as it meant that their young master would be coming home for a short while.

Tsuna smiled at the man before excusing himself to go get ready for the trip to town he, Hayato, and Takeshi had planned.

In a few hours, everybody would be getting ready to welcome his classmates, and Tsuna did not want to be around when that happened, lest he be roped into going to the airport to pick them up.

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><p>When the plane landed at Milan International Airport at about four in the afternoon, all the students were suffering from jet lag, seeing as it was already almost midnight back in Japan, so none of them really had enough energy to be overly surprised at the line of limos that were waiting to pick them up.<p>

They did, however, have enough energy to be shocked when they saw the sheer size of the mansion they would be staying at for the next two months.

"If he lives **there**, what the hell does Boreen-sensei's friend have to gain from sponsoring a field trip for a bunch of junior high students?" asked Ohmae incredulously as he stepped out of one of the limos, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Who knows," answered his friend Kitanami.

Just then, though, the huge front doors were opened by two very pretty maids, and the students were ushered in by one very polite butler.

"This way please, ladies and gentlemen," he said in slightly accented Japanese. "Timoteo-sama is awaiting your presence in the dining hall. Our chefs have worked hard all day to prepare the very best food for our master and young master's guests."

Following obediently after the butler, the students of class 2-A huddled just a little closer than they normally would have, staring around at their elegant surroundings.

They were absorbed in staring that none of them noticed all the stares and whispering they were garnering among the maids and other staff on their way to the dining room. Not that it would have mattered much if they had, seeing as they were all whispering in Italian.

When they finally arrived at the dining room, they were all entranced by the beauty and elegance of it.

There were elaborate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, lighting the room with a warm glow, and spread out in front of them was a long, simple dining table, surrounded by beautifully crafted antique-looking chairs.

The table looked about big enough to seat up to fifty people, with all the tableware and cutlery shining brightly.

Already in the room were seven battle-worn men, one of which smiled brightly when they entered and stepped forward to greet them.

"Welcome, students of Namimori-chuu class 2-A. I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

"You must be Timoteo-san?" asked Nezu-sensei as he stepped forward and bowed. "Thank you so much for everything you are doing for us."

"Not at all," replied Timoteo, smiling in a grandfatherly way. "I have my reasons in wanting to see you, so let us call it even."

No one knew quite what to say to that, so they opted to just take their seats as a line of chefs strode into the room, carrying silver platters like one would see in a movie.

Instinctively, the students left the seats at both ends of the table free as Timoteo and his friends took the seats on the end farther away from the door.

A few of the students watched curiously as the seven chefs at the end of the line placed the plates of food they were holding at the end of the table closer to the door.

Timoteo, seeing them staring, smiled. "I hope you won't mind if my heir and some of his friends join us. He doesn't live here most of the year, so when he does come home, the staff tend to get a bit…excited."

"Your heir?" asked Aozora, curious as to who would be inheriting this insane amount of wealth; maybe he was young enough to date.

"That would be me," said a familiar voice from the doorway and everyone's heads snapped around to see…

"Dame-Tsuna!" exclaimed Ohmae loudly.

And within seconds, the boy found himself staring, terrified, down the barrel of a gun.

"Don't **ever **insult Juudaime in my presence."

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><p>SkyGem: Yay! Longer than usual chapter! I hope you guys like it, ne? I'll see if I can update again tomorrow. I want this fic done asap. Anyways, please do leave a review, ne? Ciao~<p> 


	3. Going Crazy

SkyGem: Wow! Almost 60 reviews! I'm so happy this is being so well received! So far, I'm thinking it's about as popular as TItP. Do you guys think we can reach two hundred reviews before this story ends? Show me what you guys can do!

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><p>"Don't <strong>ever <strong>insult Juudaime in my presence," hissed a certain redheaded chef, and Ohmae cringed in fear.

"Celino!" said a sharp voice, and the redhead's quickly glanced up at his young master. "Put that gun away! They're our guests!"

_"___But Decimo!"__protested Celino. __"He just insulted you! I cannot just stand by and watch that happen! Your pride is at stake!"__

Rolling his eyes and letting out an exasperated huff, Tsuna said, __"Nothing is at stake here! He is just a frightened boy who has no idea about what is going on here! He didn't even know about my position! I am happy that you care about me enough to get mad at him, but please, forgive him this once, yes?"__

Celino didn't want to forgive the little piece of trash that had just insulted his young master, but since it was his young master that had requested his forgiveness, there was no way he could refuse.

Hanging his head, he said, __"Yes, sir."__

_"___Thank you,"___ replied_ his young master in a grateful voice, and Celino looked up to see the brunet smiling kindly at him. __"I can see you worked even harder on the food than usual today. I really don't know where I would be without you."__

The chef immediately brightened at this, wondering just how this youngster could be so wise and so…so…benevolent.

As this exchange had been going on, their audience had been watching raptly (even though more than half of them didn't understand what the hell they were saying), and there were mixed reactions.

Timoteo and his guardians were nodding approvingly, proud at how the young heir had handled the situation; his classmates were completely stunned; and his guardians, who had just arrived at the doorway, were acting as one would expect.

There was a snort as Hayato walked in to take his seat, which was on Tsuna's right-hand side. __"You should have just let Celino shoot him; he deserved it."__

_"___Now, now, you know Tsuna doesn't like it when people get hurt on his account," __said Takeshi, sitting down in the seat on the other side of Tsuna's.

_"___Hmph! These idiotas shouldn't even be allowed in the great Lambo's presence, let alone big brother Tsuna's. What were you thinking, grandpa?"__asked everyone's favourite cow, sitting down in his seat. Timoteo smiled fondly at this, but didn't answer.

_"___I'll bite you to death later for dragging me to this crowded place, omnivore,"__Kyoya growled at his boss, narrowing his eyes menacingly as he took his seat.

_"___Now, now, no need to get so fussy, Kyoya," __said Mukuro in a singsong voice; it was amazing how respectful he had become towards Tsuna since the brunet had gotten him out of the Vendicare…not that he wasn't still obsessed with possessing Tsuna's body.

Chrome was quiet as she and Mukuro took their seats, which was a huge contrast to Ryohei, who ran into the moment soon after, shouting, _"___I'm EXTREMELY__sorry for being __late___!" _As usual, the boxer's speech was littered with Japanese words whose Italian counterparts he couldn't remember at that point in time, which made it hard for anyone other than Tsuna and his guardians (who'd had years of practise) to understand him. As he moved to sit down, though, something caught his eyes and he shouted, "Kyoko! You're EXTREMELY here! Did you enjoy your trip to the EXTREME?"

"It was good," replied Kyoko with a smile, "But onii-chan, what are you doing here?"

The sun guardian looked confused at this. "I'm EXTREMELY spending the summer at Sawada's childhood home like I do every year! You know that, Kyoko!"

"Eh?" asked Minami. "You mean, this really is Da- I mean, Sawada's house?"

"Of course," replied the brunet in a smug voice as he took his seat at the end of the table opposite Timoteo. "Why would I lie?"

"But, you said you weren't coming to Italy!" spluttered out Kitanami.

"Get your facts straight!" shouted Hayato, obviously annoyed, "We said we weren't going on the trip, not that we weren't coming to Italy!"

Takeshi laughed at this, saying, "Yeah, why should we sign up for the trip and spend our summer going to tourist attractions and stuff when we've already seen them so many times before?"

Everyone just kept staring at them in surprise before Tsuna furrowed his brows and said to them, "Celino and the rest of the chefs worked really hard to prepare this food for us, you know. It would be rude not to eat it."

Uneasily, the students all began eating their food, all the while throwing uneasy glances at the brunet.

From her seat beside Kyoko near the middle of the table, Hana smirked, studying Tsuna out of the corner of her eyes. "Who ever knew Sawada was rich, eh? He sure doesn't act it," she said to her best friend.

Kyoko just smiled at this, saying, "Well, onii-chan does really seem to respect him, and he's usually a really good judge of character, so it's not so surprising that Tsuna-kun comes from such a rich family."

As these two were having their quiet conversation, one brave soul gathered up his courage before asking the question on almost everyone's mind. "Sawada, aren't you Japanese? How come you're the heir to an Italian family?"

There was a tense silence as everyone waited to see how the brunet would respond.

Looking away from the quiet conversation he'd been having with Gokudera, Tsuna looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling and resting his chin on his hand.

"Well," he said, "my family is a very old, very powerful one; we're both the richest and most powerful family in all Italia," –here, everyone in class 2-A, including Nezu-sensei, shivered as they remembered every bad thing they'd done to the brunet– "And you see, our wealth actually goes back four hundred years, to my great-great-great grandfather. He was Italian, but he moved to Japan later in his life and left his wealth and properties to one of his cousins. Since then, the title of head of the family has passed through eight hands, but since the ninth head, grandpa Timoteo, didn't have any heirs to pass the title to, he decided to bring out the family tree. He was quite surprised to find that one of his closest friends was actually a direct descendant of the first, but his friend didn't think he had the abilities to take over as head of the family, so he left the privilege to his then-unborn son."

"So you're like, what, 1/8 Italian?" asked Minami, thoroughly interested.

"1/32, actually," replied Tsuna before finishing up the rest of his dinner and saying, "Now, if you guys are quite done with the twenty questions, I really must excuse myself and my guardians. We have a **_very _**busy day tomorrow, and I'm sure you're all tired as well."

And with that, the boy got up from his seat and pulled a protesting Lambo into his arms (__"But Lambo's not sleepy! He wants to stay awake longer!"___) _before heading towards the door with the rest of his guardians following him; all except Kyoya, Mukuro, and Chrome, who had all made their escape earlier.

"I don't care if you're not tired," said Tsuna to his younger brother figure, "We have to attend that meeting tomorrow with grandpa and his guardians, remember? Do you **_want _**to look sleepy in front of Dino-nii and our other allies' bosses?"

Once the group had left, there was a groan, and Minami hid her head fall into her hands.

"Miyu?" asked her friend, sounding confused. "Are you okay?"

The girl merely shook her head, saying, "I must be going crazy or something. For a second there, I actually thought that Dame-Tsuna looked kinda hot…"

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><p>SkyGem: Haha, hope you guys liked this chapter, ne? Oh, and some of you may be wondering because Celino called Tsuna Juudaime. Well…when talking in Italian, everyone calls him Decimo, don't they? Well, at that point, he was speaking in Japanese, so it would kinda make sense if he called Tsuna Juudaime. Anyways, please do leave a review, and tell me what you thought, ne? Ciao!<p> 


	4. Weird

Once Tsuna and his friends had left the dining room, it was quiet for a moment before someone, Kitanami, gave in to his curiosity and asked Timoteo, "Why is that kid going to the meeting or whatever that you have tomorrow?"

"Because when Tsunayoshi takes over our organization, that child will have the position of one of Tsunayoshi's closest advisors."

Everyone's eyes bulged at this.

"But…he's just a kid," said Nezu-sensei, sounding disapproving. "He shouldn't have that much pressure on his shoulders at such a young age."

Timoteo smiled sadly at this, saying, "Yes, but there really is no other choice; believe me, if there had been, Tsunayoshi would have jumped at that chance. He would never wish upon anybody what he'd gone through as a kid."

"What he'd gone through?" asked Hana.

At this point, Nono's storm guardian, Coyote, spoke up from beside his boss, saying, "From the moment he was born, Tsunayoshi has been groomed as the next leader of the family. When he was three, instead of playing with other children, he was learning to read and write; when he was four, instead of listening to fairy tales before going to sleep, he listened to our family history; when he was five, instead of finger-painting and going to puppet-shows, he was learning to defend himself against kidnappers and going to meetings."

Upon hearing this, all the students started to feel guilty; they'd had no idea that Dame-Tsuna's childhood had been so…difficult.

"Once he'd moved to Japan, his life was a little easier," said Ganauche, the lightning guardian's normally smiling face showing the hints of a scowl. "He actually had some time to himself. But even then, he still didn't have a real childhood. His private tutor moved in with him, and his studies continued. By the age of ten, he was as smart as a high school graduate."

Ohmae snorted when he heard this. "Yeah right. Then why're his grades so low?"

"Because it's just a facade," replied the scary-looking mist, Bouche Croquant. "If he were to go around winning prizes for being so smart, not only he, but his classmates as well would be in danger of being kidnapped…or worse."

Everyone shuddered at the 'or worse.'

Trying to change the subject while at the same time sating her curiosity, Minami asked, "So he's not really clumsy, either?"

Many of the guardians let out snorts of amusement, and the sun guardian, Brow Nie Jr. said, "Clumsy? That kid is more graceful than a ballerina."

There was a moment of silence as an odd image of the young heir in a tutu popped into everyone's minds, and the students of class 2-A started roaring with laughter.

Timoteo shot a disapproving look at his guardian, but even he had a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

Not long after that, everyone was done eating, and the students were led to what would be their bedrooms for the next two months, with two students to a room.

Before leaving, the maid that had led them there, a young redhead named Gabrielle, reminded them that the right wing of the mansion was completely off-limits to them unless they had one of the maids or young masters with them, seeing as that was where the private quarters of the ninth and tenth generation guardians were.

As the students of Nami-chuu snuggled into their beds, their minds racing with everything they had learned today about the person they had once called 'Dame-Tsuna,' they wondered if the rest of their trip was going to be as shocking as the first day had been.

The answer to that question, they learned the next morning, was no, it would not be as shocking as the first day.

It would be even more so.

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><p>Tsuna loved summer for so many reasons; he didn't have to put up with any of Reborn's Spartan training, he got to come home for two whole months and see his Family, he got to drop the dame attitude (which he was starting to hate more and more), he got to sleep in…<p>

"TSUNA-NII!"

Scratch that. With a family like his, sleeping in was nothing but a myth.

Letting out a small groan, Tsuna threw his covers off and cracked an eye open just in time to see Fuuta throw himself onto his stomach, effectively knocking all the air out of his body.

"H-hey Fuuta. When did you get here?" coughed out Tsuna, trying to get air back into his lungs.

Giggling once, the boy gave him a quick greeting kiss on the cheek and replied to his question by saying, "Five hours ago!"

Tsuna frowned at this. Five hours ago? Turning to look the clock on his bedside table, he saw that it read 8:07 am.

"You got here at three in the morning?" asked Tsuna incredulously.

Fuuta nodded with a bright smile on his face.

"…How did you get in?"

The little boy shrugged nonchalantly, saying, "I got lucky, since Takeshi-nii was downstairs for a midnight snack at that time, so he convinced the night guard to let me in."

"…What have you been doing all this time?"

This question seemed to remind the little ranking prince of whatever he had come in here to do, as his eyes widened and he started tugging at Tsuna's hand to get him out of bed.

"Come on, Tsuna-nii! I need to show you something!" he said, his voice taking on an excited albeit slightly worried tone.

And so, the brunet was dragged out of his room before he even had time to exchange the tank-top he had been sleeping in for a t-shirt.

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><p>That morning, as the students of Nami-chuu were having a delicious breakfast courtesy of Celino and his staff, Hayato, Takeshi, and Lambo came in, still dressed in their pyjamas or whatever they'd worn to bed, and looking a little worried.<p>

Turning to Reborn, who was sitting in the seat Timoteo had been in last night, Hayato said worriedly, "Boreen-sensei, have you seen Juudaime? He wasn't in his room when I went to see if he was awake yet, and I can't find him anywhere else in the mansion."

Reborn let an amused smirk grace his lips as he sat back in his chair, saying, "Fuuta dragged him out back this morning to show him an injured bird he'd found, or something."

Hayato's eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion as he asked, "Fuuta? When did he get here?"

"Ah!" said Takeshi suddenly, "I forgot! Fuuta-kun arrived here at three in the morning!"

"What were you doing up at three in the morning?" asked Aozora curiously.

"He has weird sleeping habits," said Hayato, waving his hand dismissively.

Now that he knew his Juudaime was safe, all the tension drained out of his body and he plopped down onto a chair, and immediately a maid rushed to get him his breakfast.

Lambo sat sulkily in his chair, grumbling something about a "stupid nii-san-stealing prince."

Normally, Fuuta and Lambo actually got along quite well, but for about the first week or so of every summer, after not having been able to hang out with Tsuna for a whole year, both boys would be continually competing for his attention.

It wasn't long after that, that Fuuta dragged Tsuna into the dining room, the brunet holding a small box with an injured bird inside it.

"Hey guys," he said, flashing his guardians a smile.

Jumping up from his seat, Lambo ran over to see into the box.

"What species is it?" he asked.

"White-throated silver bill," replied Tsuna immediately.

"Ah, that's the first one we've found, isn't it?" asked Takeshi, strolling over to take a look at the small bird.

Tsuna nodded. "Fuuta here found it this morning and immediately came to get me. Good thing, too, or it might have gotten even more hurt than it already was."

The boy beamed with pride at the praise before his eyes travelled past the guardians to see most of the girls at the dining table staring at…Tsuna?

Looking back at his surrogate brother, the child didn't see anything wrong with the way he looked; his hair was as messy as usual, he was still wearing the pair of cargo shorts and the tank top he'd worn to sleep, and the already slightly tanned skin of his leanly muscled legs and arms had one or two more scars than the last time he'd seen the boy, but there was no reason for the girls to be staring at him like that.

And there was definitely no reason for that girl's nose to suddenly start bleeding like that.

Finally, the boy came to the conclusion that they were just weird like that, and put them out of his mind before going to take the seat beside Tsuna's, where Takeshi had sat last night.

Chewing thoughtfully on the breakfast that had been brought to him, courtesy of the maids, he wondered if all girls were this weird…other than his Chrome-nee, of course.

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><p>SkyGem: Haha, well, there it is! I hope you guys liked it, ne? Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!<p> 


	5. Mafia Boss

SkyGem: Hey all! Gomen for not updating this fic in so long. I don't know what got into me. Anyways, here's the long awaited fifth chapter! I hope you guys like it, ne?

**EDIT: **You guys are so amazing. Even though I'd posted such a terrible chapter you were all so nice in your reviews…anyways, since I was so dissatisfied with this chapter, I added another five hundred or so words to the end and improved the flow a little. I hope you enjoy!

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><p>Breakfast was a rather loud affair, as it always was in the Vongola mansion, with Lambo and Fuuta continually stealing Tsuna's attention from each other, and Tsuna's guardians being…well, themselves.<p>

The Nami-chuu students were rather quiet for the most part, only whispering to each other in quiet voices every once in a while, the girls sneaking glances at Tsuna and/or one of his guardians every few seconds.

The tenth generation didn't seem to notice this and merely went through their morning routine.

Tsuna was the first to finish eating, and as he was waiting for his guardians to finish, he turned to look at Reborn, who was calmly sipping his espresso. "So, sensei," he started, bringing everyone's attention to him and putting a stop to all the noise. "What plans do you guys have for today?"

Setting his cup down on the table, Reborn looked over at his student, saying, "Today is a free day for the students to explore the mansion."

As a result of both those chilling words and his tutor's sadistic smile, Tsuna felt himself tense up.

Now, why was he so worried about his classmates exploring the mansion? Well, maybe it had something to do with the images that were flashing across his mind, images of their weapons armoury, the tech lab, the training rooms, and other such dangerous places.

Turning to look at his rain, mist, and sun guardians, Tsuna asked them in a pleading voice, __"Can you guys please make sure they don't see anything they're not supposed to?"__

Takeshi's answering smile was carefree as he waved his hand dismissively, saying, __"Don't worry, Tsuna! We'll make sure they stay safe!"__

_"___Kufufu, yes, please do have a little faith in us, Tsunayoshi dear," __said Tsuna's male mist guardian, Chrome nodding in agreement from beside him.

_"___We'll__EXTREMELY __make sure__they don't __go anywhere near__the __training grounds!" __shouted Ryohei in that peculiar way of talking he had, and Tsuna felt himself relax; he could trust his guardians.

Suddenly, the brunet felt a tug on his sleeve, and when he looked down, he saw Fuuta, who was sitting right beside him, looking up at him with a hopeful expression.

"Ne, Tsuna-nii?" started the child, showing puppy dog eyes, "Can I come with you to the meeting too? Please?"

Smiling apologetically, Tsuna shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, Fuuta, but it's only the storm, cloud, and lightning guardians of the ninth and tenth generations that are allowed to come."

Seeing the boy's heartbroken expression upon hearing his words, the brunet then quickly went on to say, "But it'll only take an hour or two, and since we're only meeting with the Chiavarone, Giglio Nero, and Shimon, it's safe to have the meeting here in the mansion, so if you really need me for anything, I'll be right here, okay?"

Fuuta nodded glumly, his expression still downcast, before he froze mid-nod, his head shooting up and his eyes widening as Tsuna's words registered in his mind.

"Wait, the Giglio Nero and the Shimon are come?" he asked, his voice growing excited. "Does that mean that Uni-chan and Mami-chan are coming too?"

A smile coming onto his face, Tsuna nodded in reply, and Fuuta's eyes lit up as he threw his arms around Tsuna, letting out an excited laugh. "I can't wait!" said the boy. "The last time I saw them was months ago! And I have some new rankings that really I want to show them!"

"Who's Mami-chan and Uni-chan?" Minami quietly asked of her friend, who merely shrugged her shoulders in reply.

Just then, the cute scene was cut short as the door to the dining room opened to reveal Nono's cloud guardian standing there, his expression disapproving.

Seeing Tsuna sitting at the table, still in his pyjamas, the man's brows furrowed and he said, "What are you and your guardians still doing down here, Tsunayoshi? Our allies will be arriving any minute now! Hurry upstairs and get changed!"

At his words, Tsuna turned to throw a quick glance at the clock, his eyes widening when he saw the time and he immediately shot out of his seat and pulled Lambo into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Visconti!" he said quickly, bowing in apology. "I completely lost track of the time! I'll go up right now!"

The older man nodded at his words, satisfied, before turning and heading up to the meeting room, where the ninth generation were already waiting to greet their allies.

Tsuna quickly exited the room after him, with Hayato following briskly behind him, apologizing profusely over and over again for not noticing the time and warning Tsuna.

The Nami-chuu students, who were almost done eating by now, silently watched them leave, the remaining guardians continuing to eat a leisurely pace.

Not more than five minutes later, a sound in the foyer caught everybody's attention, and Fuuta jumped out of his seat and headed to the door, saying excitedly, "They're here!"

Curious to see who he was talking about, the students all surged out of their seats and towards the doorway of the dining room, jostling for room and trying to see the people that had just entered the residence.

Reborn, knowing that they were in no danger no matter which of their allies had arrived first, didn't get up from his seat, preferring to finish his espresso.

From where they were watching from the doorway of the dining room, the Nami-chuu students saw the butler greeting a tall, pretty woman with straight black hair that went just past her shoulders and a small, clover-like birthmark under her left eye. Clinging to the woman's hand was a young five-year-old girl, and standing protectively around the two of them were five men in black suits.

When the young girl saw Fuuta, she let out a squeal of excitement and let go of her mother's hand to run over to him, tackling him in a hug.

Her mother's eyes flickered over to her, to see where she was going, and when she saw Fuuta there, she smiled at him for a second before turning back to follow the butler, secure in the knowledge that nothing would endanger her daughter so long as she was in the Vongola mansion.

"It so good to see you, Fuuta-kun!" the young girl said to her friend as her mother left for the meeting room, her smile warm, and all the girls of class 2-A melted at the cuteness of it all.

Fuuta replied with his own sweet smile and the two chatted away happily as they waited for the third of their group to arrive.

They didn't have long to wait as the door was opened again only three minutes later to let in nine more people. Four of those people were grown men, the leader having a shock of red hair and intelligent red eyes. Behind the adults were also four teenagers and one young girl.

The teenagers looked about the same age as the Nami-chuu students, but they were probably as different from the rather normal students as was possible. The group consisted of a strange girl who was completely bald except for her blond bangs, and who had an 'S' tattooed into the side of her head; beside her was a tall, heavy-set guy with golden brown hair and an 'x' shaped scar on his left cheek; and behind those two was yet one more girl, only this one looked slightly more normal in comparison to the other girl, her long black hair tied into a tight ponytail. The only thing that was abnormal about her was the rather large size of her bosom, which had all the guys staring.

The last of the teenagers was the only really normal one among them; he was a slender boy with messy red hair like the leader of the group and gentle red eyes.

Holding the redheaded boy's hands was a young girl, maybe seven years old, whose face looked quite similar to the boy's. Her red hair, the same colour as the boy's and his father's, was in a pixie cut and a cute hair clip that was shaped like a cherry was holding back a part of her hair.

When she saw Fuuta and Uni, the girl's eyes widened and she tugged on her brother's hand to get his attention. When he turned his gaze down on her, she pointed to them, asking him something in a quiet voice.

The boy looked up in their direction before smiling and giving a small nod, releasing his sister's hand.

Smiling brightly, the girl skipped over to stand in front of them. Giving a small bow, she said, "Ohayou, Fuuta-kun! Ohayou, Uni-chan!"

Her two friends replied to her greeting in kind, saying in unison, "Ohayou, Mami-chan!"

And now that all three of them were gathered, the three ran off down the hallway before disappearing through a door.

The girl, Mami-chan's, brother let them go, turning back to follow his father upstairs to the meeting room.

"I wonder who all these people are?" Kitanami asked Aozora in a quiet voice once they were gone.

"I'm not sure," she replied, "But last night, Sawada did say that they were having a meeting with their allies. Maybe these people are business partners or something?"

"They look more like mafia thugs to me," Ohmae muttered just as the door opened yet once more to let in six more people.

At the front of the group was a young blond man with a cheerful face and tattoos running up his arms. Accompanying the man were six others in expensive black suits, their expressions stern.

Unlike the others before him, the blond man seemed to notice the Nami-chuu students watching from the entry to the dining room, and after a moment of shocked staring, he smiled a friendly smile and gave them a small wave before turning to lead his group upstairs.

The girls all swooned at this small gesture while the guys glared resentfully after him.

"Who needs that many bodyguards anyways?" asked a grumpy Chishu, who was watching his crush giggle over the blond man along with her friends.

And, as one would expect, Reborn was the one to answer that rhetorical question, saying in a deadpan voice, "A mafia boss."

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><p>When Tsuna, Lambo, and Hayato entered the meeting room, they found that they were the last to arrive, with everyone already seated and waiting for them.<p>

Blushing in embarrassment, he bowed deeply, his two guardians following his example, and said, __"I apologize for keeping everyone waiting."__

_ "___Aww, hurry up and raise your head, little bro. You know we don't mind waiting for you, especially since you don't sit in on these meetings very often. It's nice to have you here once in a while."__

Aria smiled and nodded in agreement with the Chiavarone boss. __"It really is no problem, Tsuna-kun. Anyways, why don't you take a seat so that we can start now, ne?"__

Coming out of his bow, Tsuna nodded once before going over to take where Kyoya had already arrived and was sitting beside Enma and his three guardians.

Once the adults had started talking about whatever they had called this meeting for, Tsuna listened to them with only one ear, the other focusing on what Enma was now asking him.

"Hey, Tsuna-kun, who were those guys downstairs? They don't look like they're a part of the mafia."

Still partially listening to their elders and not taking his eyes off them, Tsuna whispered to his friend, "They're my classmates from Nami-chuu. Grandpa invited them over for the summer."

Enma was just barely able to stifle his gasp of surprise in time, asking in a quiet voice, "What? Why? Does he have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Tsuna merely shrugged in response, saying, "I have no idea what was going on in his mind when he thought of it, but I'm almost certain that Reborn had something to do with it."

Enma hummed in agreement, about to say something else, when Dino shot them both a warning look, a look that clearly said, "Pay attention now, or I'll make you regret it later."

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><p>SkyGem: Well, sorry guys; this was probably a boring chapter, but I needed a transition for what's going to be happening next, and I promise it'll be much more entertaining. And sorry again for taking so long to update, but I promise that updates will more frequent from now on; especially if this fic wins the poll on my profile. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? And yes, Mami is a canon character. Well, that's all for now and for those who haven't voted on the poll on my blog, please do so before Monday! The link is on my profile! Ciao!<p>

**Edit: **There you go. Not quite perfect, but in my opinion it's a lot better than it had been before. Hope you guys like it.


	6. The Portrait Room

SkyGem: I'M BACK! Hehe ^^. I got back from my camp the day before yesterday and I've been resting due to jetlag and stuff. Anyways, now that I'm all rested and stuff, (my attempt at) the daily updates will begin. And as was expected, Summer to Remember won the poll! So here's the next chapter! If Summer to Remember finishes by the end of the summer, the runner-up will take it's place. Anyways, let's get on with the chapter, ne? I hope you like!

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><p>"A mafia boss."<p>

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at 'Boreen-sensei', before the entire class started laughing.

"Yeah right!" laughed Chiaki, wiping a tear from his eye. "Even if Sawada turned out to be not so dame, there's no way in hell he could ever be a mafia boss!"

Reborn's expression was calm as he asked, "Why not?"

"Because he's scrawny as hell," supplied Ohmae.

And almost before he was done talking, there was a screech of, "HE IS NOT!" from the newly formed Tuna-sama* fan club, of which Minami was the president.

Taken aback by the sudden appearance of the terrifying fangirls, Ohmae wisely chose not to say anything.

"Didn't you see him at the table this morning?" demanded the haughty voice of the fan club's vice-president, a brunette by the name of Ryusaki Ruriko.

"He's totally fit!" supplied another of the club's members.

"W-well, even if he is fit, that doesn't necessarily mean he can fight," commented Chishu, trying to support Ohmae, but unfortunately getting on the bad side of the aforementioned fangirls.

Without a word, Reborn pulled a remote out of nowhere, pressed a button, and immediately, the curtain that had been hiding a whole section of the wall next to them slid aside to reveal hundreds of martial arts trophies and medals and certificates.

The class at large could only gape at the amount of prizes.

In the end, the first one to get his voice back turned out to be Ohmae, and he stuttered out, "B-but just because he can f-fight doesn't necessarily mean t-that he's a mafia boss. I-I mean, come on, right?"

There was silence in reply to the boy's comments, and he desperately turned to Yamamoto.

"You guys aren't really from the mafia, right?" he asked, and got a carefree laugh in return.

"Do I look like a mafioso to you?" asked the cheerful Yamamoto, deliberately answering in a way that would make his classmates misunderstand.

Ohmae immediately calmed down, as did quite a few others, while some of the girls actually looked a little…disappointed? Honestly, the way these girl's minds worked was a complete mystery.

Reborn, letting out a little annoyed huff at the fact that his little impromptu plan had been foiled, took out a piece of paper, then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

Once he had everyone's attention, the infant-disguised-as-teacher addressed the class, "Seeing as the Vongola mansion is rather large, and it would be too much of a pain to find you all if you got lost, you have been divided into four groups of six. Lunch will be at exactly noon, so everyone is to meet up in the portrait room at eleven fifty. Am I making myself clear?"

There were nods of assent from the students, and a hand rose into the air.

Arching an eyebrow, Reborn looked over at the owner of the hand, a shy boy by the name of Enoki Eru.

Delicately adjusting his glasses with a finger, he asked, "Where exactly is the portrait room, sensei?"

Without a word, Reborn turned and started heading towards a door in one corner of the dining hall they were currently in.

Opening the door, he gestured the students in, and there were loud gasps of surprise when the students saw what was inside.

The room had no furniture except for some sofas and chairs lined up against the walls, which were painted the colour of red wine, and on the walls were nine beautiful portraits in elaborately decorated frames.

All the portraits showed sets of seven people, most of them men, all in similar poses, with one person sitting on a plush, high-backed chair in the middle, and the others arranged protectively around him or her.

All the people in the paintings were completely different, but they all had something in common; they were all incredibly intimidating to look at. Some were glaring, others had neutral expressions, and even some still were smiling. But even in a painting, they had an almost dangerous aura around them.

"Who are these people?" asked Kitanami in an awed whisper.

"Who else would they be but the heads of our family and their closest advisors?" asked Reborn, and the students looked on in renewed interest. "These were all made soon after the respective generation took over, and the empty frame here will be for Tsuna's family."

The class turned as one to look at the empty spot that seemed lonely, waiting for the painting that would in time fill the frame, before turning to look at the picture next to it.

It didn't take long to recognize Timoteo and his guardians, and as the class went back through the generations, they noticed the clothing the people were wearing becoming progressively older and older in each painting, and when they got to the last picture – or rather the first – they got quite a shock.

"I-Isn't this-?"

"Why does he look so much like-?"

"Who is he-?"

"Sawada Ieyasu," said Reborn in answer to all the disjointed questions, "Tsunayoshi's great-great-great grandfather, and around him are his six guardians.

"B-but! He looks exactly like Sawada!" exclaimed Chishu.

In the background, the fangirls were squealing their heads off, and one of them, a girl by the name of Nanami Natsuki was saying, "So Tsunayoshi-sama got his good looks from his Italian blood! How dreamy!"

"What good looks?" asked an irritated Ohmae, "Until just last week you girls were saying how you wouldn't even consider going out with him if he was the last male on Earth!"

"URUSAI!" was the collective shout from the entire fan club, and the boy jumped back in fright, hiding behind his equally terrified friend.

And in the middle of all this, one question brought everyone's attention back to the paintings.

"Why are they all holding weapons?" asked Kitanami, and once again, Reborn answered.

"Because this is a mafia family," he deadpanned, wondering if the idiots would believe him this time.

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><p>Meanwhile, back in the meeting room, Tsuna was clutching at his head, wondering if the universe hated him.<p>

Looking at his blond older brother figure, he asked in a desperate voice, "What do you mean, **_he's_**coming to visit?"

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><p>SkyGem: So, not the best chapter, but don't worry, you'll definitely be getting an update tomorrow. Look forward to it, ne? And I'd also love to see your guesses as to who "he" is. Please do leave a review and tell me what you thought and I'll see you guys later! Ciao.<p> 


	7. Exploring

SkyGem: Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful welcome! And also, thanks for all the reviews! They really surprised me. I got over seventy! FOR ONE CHAPTER! You guys are amazing! Anyways, here's the next chapter, as promised. Hope you enjoy!

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><p>"Because this is a mafia family."<p>

Everyone continued to stare at Reborn before there was a weak laugh from Chishu, and the boy said, "That's not funny anymore, Boreen-sensei."

And before the hitman could reply, Chrome interrupted, saying, "S-shouldn't we all b-be going now?"

"Ah! That's right! It's time for everyone to explore, isn't it?" asked Yamamoto. "We'll have one guardian go with each of the groups so they don't see get lost!"

"EXTREME!" shouted Ryohei. "I'll EXTREMELY go with Kyoko's group!"

And so, after that, the students were all put into their groups and set off in with their respective guides, all of the students (except the crazy fangirls) extremely relieved that a certain terrifying prefect had had to go to the meeting with his boss and wouldn't be free to terrorize them today.

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><p>Mukuro, being the sadistic little boy he was, immediately led his group to the –ahem – 'special' training grounds of the guardians, completely disregarding his boss's request to not let any of his classmates see anything they shouldn't.<p>

As the training areas were all in the lower levels of the mansion, it took quite a while there, and the awkward silence seemed to be bothering some of the people in his group.

In the end, it was Enoki that decided to speak up first. "So, um, Mukuro-san, was it? Y-you don't go to our school, do you?"

Mukuro stopped his casual humming to spare a fleeting glance at the seemingly nervous boy behind him before looking forward again as he answered, saying, "No, I'm a Kokuyo student."

This answer surprised the people in his group, and a girl by the name of Honoka Hikari gathered her courage to ask, "H-how did you meet Sawada-san, then?"

"Oh, he was the one that helped free me from prison," answered the pineapple haired lad nonchalantly before going back to his humming.

And immediately, everyone in the group inched away from the boy except for Honoka and Aozora. Both girls were a part of the pineapple head's fan club, which had been hastily formed not long after the class had been dismissed from the dinner table the night before. These two girls found the thought of Mukuro being an ex-convict terribly romantic.

"So where are we going to be exploring first, Mukuro-san?" asked Aozora, blinking flirtatiously and trying to keep the boy talking.

Mukuro altogether ignored her (rather pathetic) attempts at seduction and answered in a rather excited voice with, "We're going to see Skylark-kun's training grounds!"

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><p>Meanwhile, as Mukuro's group (sans the two crazy fangirls) was gaining a healthy fear of the teen, Ryohei's group was in danger of going deaf…and crazy.<p>

Since they had left the portrait room, the hyperactive teen had not once stopped shouting, and only shut his mouth when his younger sister interrupted his (extremely) loud ramblings by asking, "Onii-san, where exactly are we going?"

The older Sasagawa stopped for a moment to think, looking rather confused before shouting, "I EXTREMELY don't know!"

"What do you mean, you don't know?" demanded Ohmae.

Ryohei ignored the boy, his face a mask of concentration, before a bright smile lit up his face and he shouted, "Why don't we EXTREMELY check out Sawada's room! It's completely EXTREME!"

Kyoko, a sweatdrop forming on her forehead, told her brother patiently, "I don't think that's such a good idea, onii-chan."

"Why not?" demanded Ryohei. "Sawada EXTREMELY doesn't mind it when me and tako head and the others go to his room!"

"Well, yeah, but that's because-" Kyoko began, but was cut off by her classmate.

"Now, now, Kyoko-san, if Sasagawa-sempai says we can go there, then it should be fine," said Ohmae in a rather smug voice; he was itching to find something to hold against Dame-Tsuna. "I mean, sempai was put in charge of us all, so he must know what he's doing, right?"

Kyoko bit her lip in uncertainty, but couldn't find anything to say to the boy, and in the end, she didn't have time to say anything, because her brother's shouting cut through her thoughts.

"Let's go to Sawada's EXTREME room, then!"

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><p>In yet another part of the mansion, poor, seemingly defenseless Chrome had been put in charge of a group with only two girls, and four guys, all of whom seemed to be quite unpleasantly ogling her.<p>

The shy illusionist, though, didn't seem to notice the unwelcome attention, and continued to lead her group on her tour.

The two girls in her group, Minami and Ryusaki, seemed to take pity on her and started up a conversation to give the boys something to pay attention to rather than their guide's curves.

"Ne, you're Chrome-chan, right? What school do you go to? How come we haven't seen you before?"

The shyer half of the mist duo looked back at Ryusaki and smiled a tiny smile, answering in a rather quiet voice, "I'm a student of Kokuyo, so I rarely come into Namimori."

"Wow! How did a Kokuyo student like you get to know Tsunayoshi-sama so well?" asked Minami curiously, earning an odd look from Chrome at her way of addressing the girl's boss.

"I actually met him through Mukuro-sama. The two of us are descendants of Bossu's great-great-great grandfather's mist guardian, Daemon, although Mukuro-sama is through his older son, and me through the younger one. Bossu was looking for a mist guardian a few years ago, and since Mukuro-sama was still in the Vendicare prison at that time, I acted as his contact to the outside world, and that's how I met Bossu."

The four boys in the group seemed shocked at the fact that Mukuro was apparently an ex-convict, but the two girls had latched onto something completely different.

"Waai! Not fair! Tsunayoshi-sama lets you call him Bossu?" whined Ryusaki.

"I want to call him that too!" wailed Minami in a jealous tone.

Chrome, feeling distinctly flustered and not really sure what to say, just blurted out a sentence the consequences of which Tsuna would have to deal with for the rest of the trip…and possibly his entire life.

"I-I'm sure Bossu wouldn't mind i-if you called him that."

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><p>While his fellow guardians set about making his boss slash best friend's life a complete mess, Yamamoto actually seemed to be doing pretty well.<p>

He hadn't said anything to terrify his classmates.

He hadn't taken said classmates anywhere they shouldn't be.

And he hadn't basically thrown Tsuna into the awaiting claws of any rabid fangirls…yet.

All seemed to be going pretty well…until he decided to show his classmates the rather impressive kitchens.

Walking into the large and quite busy kitchens, Yamamoto kept to the walls, making sure neither he nor his charges got in the chefs' ways, and led them to a small corner of the kitchen where there was a dining table set up especially for him and the other guardians for whenever they needed a small snack.

There were eight chairs situated around the table, one of which was currently occupied by a teen around Yamamoto's age who was currently flipping marshmallows into his mouth one by one.

Upon their arrival, the teen looked over at them, and his eyes crinkled as he smiled widely, the bluish-purple tattoo under his left eye contrasting starkly with the white of his hair.

"Why if it isn't Yama-kun!" exclaimed the white-haired teen in a chirpy voice. "And who is that you've got with you?"

Yamamoto let out an awkward laugh in response, saying, "Hey, Byakuran-kun. What brings you here?"

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><p>SkyGem: Hehe, I kept my promise! Yay! Anyways, hope you liked this chapter, ne? Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!<p> 


	8. HIM TOO?

"Hey, Byakuran-kun. What brings you here?"

The older male shrugged, merely replying with, "Marshmallows."

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at him before Yamamoto asked, "Why not eat them in your own kitchen? I'm pretty sure your chefs keep a supply in store for you."

An image of a room in his mansion filled to the brim with bags of marshmallows flashed through Byakuran's mind before he refocused his attention on the rain guardian and smiled, saying, "Oh, they do! But I wanted to visit my little tuna fish-chan, since I heard he was back in Italy!"

_ '___That still doesn't explain why you're in the kitchen,'__Yamamoto thought to himself, a sweatdrop appearing on his forehead. "We-well, Tsuna's sitting in on a meeting at the moment, so I'm sorry to say that you can't talk to him right away…"

"It's fine, it's fine," assured the white-haired male, his creepy smile still in place and his eyes glinting with curiously as he took in the sight of Yamamoto's classmates as they stood a few paces behind the young swordsman. "Now, would you care to introduce me to your guests? I don't think I recognize them."

"A-ah," said Takeshi, trying to quickly think up an excuse, "You w-wouldn't have seen them before since th-this is their first time at the mansion."

Byakuran's eyes lit up in childish excitement. "Ah! So they're new recruits!" he said, jumping up to walk around them, studying each member of the group as if they were a piece of meat he was thinking of eating. "Not too bad, although I do think little tuna-chan would be able to find much better people to join his Family. Preferably people who aren't so…weak-looking. Can they even use flames?"

"We're not new recruits, or whatever!" retorted Kitanami indignantly, and Yamamoto's eyes widened. The boy tried to tell his classmate to shut up before he dug his own grave, but was unfortunately (or fortunately, whichever way you look at it), too late. "We're his classmates!"

Byakuran stopped dead in his observations when he heard this before straightening out, a steely glare flashing in his eyes for just a second before his smile was back on, full blast and even creepier than before, if that were possible.

"So you're Tsu-chan's classmates, are you?" he asked in a honey-sweet voice. "The same ones that tease him all the time and call him Dame-Tsuna?"

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><p>Tsuna was trying really hard to pay attention to what the conversation was about but all he could really get out of it was that they were talking about renewing the alliance between the three Families and talking about other possible allies. At present, the brunet's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the menace that would be arriving at his home later that day.<p>

Noticing that his friend didn't seem to be feeling too well, Enma leaned over and asked, "Are you okay, Tsuna-kun? "

"A-ah," replied the brunet in a whisper, "It's just that, I d-"

Before he could finish what he was saying, though, Tsuna was interrupted by the Donna of the Giglio Nero asking, __"And what is your position on this, Tsunayoshi-kun?"__

Snapping back to attention, Tsuna looked in Aria's direction in what he hoped was a neutral expression, blurting out, __"Excuse me?"__

Dino, who took his job as Don surprisingly seriously, threw his little brother a warning look before coming to his rescue, saying, __"I know how you feel about them, Tsunayoshi, but it's been many years since that incident, and the Estraneo are starting to regain their old power. It may be more advantageous to invite them now and have them indebted to us in the future than to keep them as enemies."__

Tsuna immediately realized that they were talking about the upcoming annual banquet that the Vongola and her allies took turns hosting, and even though he couldn't quite call to mind at the moment whose turn it was to host, there was one thing he was definitely sure about.

His expression set into an icy mask, the brunet said, __"I would very much appreciate it if we didn't welcome that Family into our alliance. They did something completely unforgivable to one of my mist guardians and many, many other children, and there's nothing to say that they won't do it again."__

Timoteo frowned a little at his answer, saying, __"I know I said I would give you final say on this year's guest list so you could get some experience, Tsunayoshi, but you shouldn't let your personal feelings get in the way of your decision making."__

Wait…Tsuna got the final say? But…it was always the hosting Family that got the final say on the guest list which would mean…THE VONGOLA WAS HOSTING THE PARTY THIS YEAR?

Tsuna began to panic a little at this realization. Would his classmates be here on the day of the party? Surely Reborn wouldn't put them in **_that_****much **_danger_…would he?

Shaking his head to get those thoughts out of his mind and focus on the task he had right now, he told his Nonno, __"It isn't only because of Mukuro anymore. My classmates are here this year, and there's no way I'm putting them in that kind of danger! I'll consider discussing it next year, but there is absolutely no way they're coming to this year's party, sir!"__

Everyone around the table was now staring at Tsuna, who sometime during his short speech had stood out of his chair. Feeling a small blush creep onto his cheeks, Tsuna sat back down, saying, __"I apologize for getting so worked up."__

Vongola Nono stared at him for just a moment longer before finally relenting, and after that, the meeting went along normally until Tsuna got an emergency call from Celino down in the kitchen.

_"___Decimo!" __shouted the man from the other side, and Tsuna thought he could hear the sounds of fighting from the other end of the line. _"Master Takeshi is currently trying to protect your classmates from Don Byakuran of the Gesso Family! Please come down as soon as possible!"_

It took Tsuna just a moment to register what the chef had said, and when he did, he let out a long shriek. __"HIIEEEE! What's Byakuran doing in our kitchen? Big brother Xanxus and the Varia are coming over later, and that's bad enough, but now I have to deal with him too?"__

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><p>SkyGem: Lol. When Bya-kun showed up last chapter, you all immediately assumed he was the 'him' I'd referred to in the previous chapter, and some of you were disappointed it wasn't Xanxus…well, looks like you've gotten your wish, ne? Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought and I'll see you tomorrow! Ciao!<p> 


	9. Ushishishi

"Byakuran-kun!"

The terrified students who had been under Yamamoto's supervision turned their attention away from the ongoing fight when they heard Tsuna's voice.

Immediately upon Tsuna's arrival, the white-haired teen by the name of Byakuran immediately stopped his fight with Yamamoto and latched onto the fluffy new arrival.

"Tuna fish!" he shouted in delight, rubbing his cheek against Tsuna's. "You've grown so much since I last saw you, but you're still just as cute as ever!"

Pulling away from his captor, Tsuna looked at the boy with a stern expression before asking, "And just what were you trying to do before I got here, Byakuran-kun?"

The white-haired boy just stared at him with a blank expression, refusing to answer his question.

A tick appeared on Tsuna's forehead and he amended, "Bya-kun?"

This time, Byakuran answered, saying, "I was just trying to avenge my little Tsu-kun! I'm going to make these little imbeciles regret ever bullying you!"

Rubbing his temples to try and ward off the oncoming headache, Tsuna asked, "How do you even know about that?"

In reply, Byakuran just shrugged nonchalantly, saying, "Skylark-chan and Pineapplehead-kun keep me up to date!"

"Note to self," muttered Tsuna under his breath, "Get revenge on the tsundere and the sadist." Then, turning his attention back to the older male that was currently clinging to him, he told him sternly, "No physical harming of my classmates or I'm kicking you out."

"What?" demanded Byakuran, pouting, "But why?"

"Because I said so!"

Crossing his arms and pouting adorably at this, Byakuran turned his head away, grumbling, "Fine, no **_physical _**harming."

Unfortunately, Tsuna didn't hear the double meaning behind the older teen's words and wasn't able to divert the psychological trauma his classmates would soon fall victim to.

* * *

><p>"This way to the EXTREME!" shouted Ryohei as he led his classmates to Tsuna's bedroom.<p>

Kyoko was still worried about the invasion of privacy while Hana, on the other hand, seemed…excited?

"What are you so worried about?" asked the taller girl. "We're just checking out his room. Just trust your big brother once in a while, ne?"

"But Hana-chan!" protested the girl, "This is Tsuna-kun's bedroom! We shouldn't be going in without permission!"

"Details, details," said her friend, waving it off with a dismissing gesture.

And just then, their conversation was cut off as they finally arrived at their destination.

Ohmae seemed to be the most eager one in the group to see the bedroom, thinking that this would be the way to prove that their classmate really was dame, no matter what anyone said.

When Ryohei opened the door, though, and they all saw the inside of Tsuna's room, even Kyoko couldn't resist the urge to stare; it was completely different from how she'd imagined it.

The entire domed ceiling was made of glass (bullet-proof), the sunlight streaming in giving the room a light, airy feeling.

The walls were painted a soft, pastel orange, and the furniture in the room was all different shades of brown and orange.

One entire wall of the room was completely covered, from floor to ceiling, with pictures, endless pictures. There were pictures of Tsuna from just after he was born, until as previously as this summer. In some of them, he was alone, but in most of them, he was with at least one of his guardians or some other people that she didn't recognize. Looking at the pictures, Kyoko was surprised to see that she was in some of them as well, ones that she didn't even remember at all, from when she was five.

"Hey, onii-chan?" called the girl, claiming her brother's attention. "How long have you known Tsuna-kun?"

Ryohei just grinned widely at the question, saying, "Since I was five! Sawada and tako head EXTREMELY saved me from some bullies and even introduced me to boxing to the EXTREME!"

"Hey! Where's Sawada's bed?" asked Ohmae, interrupting Ryohei and Kyoko's conversation, and the hyperactive boxer looked over at him with a confused expression.

"It's EXTREMELY in Sawada's bedroom! Where else would it be?"

"I thought this was his bedroom?" asked Hana, her eyebrows raised.

Ryohei just looked at her with an incredulous expression, saying, "Why would I EXTREMELY take you to Sawada's EXTREME bedroom? That's private!"

"B-but you said you were taking us there!" spluttered Ohmae angrily.

Ryohei's brows furrowed and he shouted, "I EXTREMELY didn't say that! I said I would take you to his room! Not his bedroom! There's a difference!"

"What's this room used for, then?" asked Kyoko curiously.

"It's EXTREMELY just a room for us all to relax and do our work. When we were little, we used to have EXTREME sleepovers in here and watch movies as well."

Letting out a huff, the sun guardian crossed his arms and said, "Why would you even think I would take you to Sawada's EXTREME bedroom without his permission? Really!"

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><p>Meanwhile, with Chrome's group, things were going pretty well.<p>

Other than that little mishap where the illusionist had practically thrown her beloved boss to the rabid fangirls, she was doing almost as well as Takeshi had been doing before a certain marshmallow freak had shown up.

Unfortunately, though, it seemed as if the universe really was out to get Tsuna, because just like with Takeshi, the group came upon some…not so friendly guests.

Chrome and her group had just been crossing the foyer when the main entrance had been thrown open and in strolled none other than…the Varia!

Completely disregarding the threat the Vongola's independent assassination squad was to her classmates, Chrome immediately approached them.

"Ohayou, minna-san!" she greeted them with a deep bow.

Upon seeing her, Lussuria let out a squeal of excitement and gathered the pineapple-haired girl into a bear hug.

"Well if it isn't Chrome-chan!" he gushed out. "It's been so long! How are you doing sweetheart?"

"VOOII! Let her go already, you stupid diva! Can't you see she's struggling to breathe?" shouted Squalo, giving his teammate a kick that Lussuria didn't even notice.

"I really don't think the young Decimo would appreciate it if we suffocated one of his mist guardians. Just remember that I'm not going to help pay your medical bills afterwards," said Mammon in a monotone voice.

"Ushishishishi! It looks like Chrome-chan has some friends with her!"

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><p>SkyGem: Lol, well then, this mess just keeps getting bigger and bigger, doesn't it? Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!<p>

P.S. What fic do you think I should update next?


	10. The Brank

"Ushishishishi! It looks like Chrome-chan has some friends with her!"

This sentence seemed to catch the rest of the Varia's attention and they all turned to look at Chrome's group, who were standing off to the side, looking a bit intimidated.

There was a growl from Xanxus when he noticed that most of the group was guys, and he barked out, "Chrome!"

Snapping her head around to look at Xanxus, Chrome slowly approached him, asking, "Yes, Xanxus-nii?"

"Who the fuck is this trash that's following you around?"

"A-ah, they're Bossu's classmates," replied Chrome timidly, and Xanxus's brow furrowed even more than it already was.

"They're…Tsunayoshi's classmates?" he asked, his voice threatening as he approached the group slowly.

"Ushishi, I suddenly feel like practising my knife throwing…" said Bel, trailing after his boss, brandishing three knives in each of his hands.

Now, Chrome wasn't nearly as naive as people made her out to be; she was just a really good actor. The female illusionist knew what the Varia were about to do; it wasn't that hard to figure out, really, with Bel grinning his psychotic grin and Squalo fingering his sword; even the usually happy Lussuria was in battle mode.

Instead of interfering, though, she just stood where she was, a clueless smile on her face. She absolutely hated the way these people treated her beloved Bossu, and just because she wasn't allowed to do anything to them, that didn't mean she would stop others from doing it as well.

The kids in her group, meanwhile, were throwing her pleading looks, and looking terrified out of their wits.

One of the boys looked as if he was about to start crying.

By this time, Bel had gotten a hold of one of the students, Chishu, and was drawing his knife lightly across the boy's skin, drawing out little pearls of blood.

Squalo had roughly pulled another of the boy's, whose name was Sasaki Shoutaro, head back by his hair and looked as if he was about to force his sword down the boy's throat.

And just then, Tsuna came rushing onto the scene and everyone froze.

The brunet took one look at the current situation, taking in Bel and Squalo whose victims who looked close to passing out, Xanxus with his gun pointed 'below the belt' of one of his classmates, and the rest of the Varia who had yet to do anything to their victims, and he let out an ear piercing, "HIIIIEEEEEE! X-Xanxus-nii! Please put your gun away! Squalo-nii and Bel-nii, please let go of those two! And everyone else, h-hurry up and let go of them!"

* * *

><p>At the same time with Mukuro's group, the Nami-chuu students were a little creeped out at what they had seen of Hibari's training grounds, but they weren't scared out of their wits like Chrome's poor group.<p>

But then Mukuro decided to show them the 'interrogation' chamber.

It had been discovered early on that the Decimo's cloud and (male) mist guardians had quite the talent for drawing information out of unwilling individuals, so they had been enlisted to the Vongola's official interrogation team.

And they were given permission to use the interrogation room whenever they wished.

Which was a bad idea.

A really bad idea.

Especially now that six of Tsuna's hated classmates were now at Mukuro's complete mercy.

But even still, the pineapple head was careful not to go too far.

After all, it just simply wouldn't do to have his little tuna fish get __too__mad at him.

So, keeping this thought in mind, Mukuro without warning bound and gagged his classmates with his illusions before binding them all to metal chairs.

Once they were all successfully subdued, the boy went over to where they kept all their supplies and calmly took out six metal devices.

Walking back over to the students, he smiled widely and said in a cheerful voice, "Now, boys and girls, this here is called a brank! Kufufu, it was a torture device used in Medieval ages! These are a bit rusty because we barely use them, seeing as they're mostly for humiliation, but they're absolutely perfect for our situation right now!"

The gagged Nami-chuu students were now staring at him with frightened eyes, but Mukuro just ignored them, merely continuing with his explanation.

"Now, I'll be going through all your memories to see which of you bullied my little Tsu-kun the most, and how long you have to wear this will depend on that! Everybody understand? Great!"

And so, in the end, Honoka, Aozora, and another girl, Yoshie Yurika, all got it for four hours while the last girl in their group only got it for an hour because she didn't participate in the actual teasing, but did laugh along with her friends. Enoki, surprisingly enough, only got half an hour because he didn't participate in the bullying at all and called Tsuna by his name; the only reason he even got half an hour was because he didn't help Tsuna either.

And the last guy in the group got an astonishing eight hours because of all the teasing he did, which was probably nothing, compared to what Ohmae would have gotten had he been in this group, which, fortunately for him, he wasn't.

"Now, I'm sure I probably don't need to explain this," started Mukuro, "But I'll do it anyways, just in case you guys are morons that don't understand. You all feel that iron curb in your mouth? Well, it has these sharp little spikes that will cut into your tongue if you try to speak. Got it? These devices are quite a bit more advanced than their medieval counterparts, because they have an electric lock that absolutely won't open no matter what until your time is up! I wish you all good luck!"

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><p>SkyGem: Lol, well hope you guys liked this chapter ne? And for those that are wondering what will happen to Ryohei's group, well, I'd just like to remind you that there are three more characters running around the mansion that have been unaccounted for for the last few chapters. I wonder what they're up to? Lol. Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought. Ciao!<p>

P.S. This fic already almost has 500 reviews! Yay!


	11. The Kids

SkyGem: Hey minna-san! Thanks for all your reviews! I really really appreciate them, and I assure you, I read every single word of every single one of them! Anyways, if we keep this up, StR will have a thousand reviews by its twentieth chapter (if it gets that far)! Just thinking of that makes me super excited. I really hope it'll happen. I swear, I went over the moon when RaF reached its 1000th review. I'll be twice as happy if StR gets that far. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best, ne? Anyways, here's the chapter.

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><p>"Okay, so Fuuta-kun, you're sure the one that bullied Tsu-nii the most was some guy named Ohmae, right?" asked Uni.<p>

"Hai! I double-checked just to make sure! And it wasn't raining either when I made the rankings! It was definitely this guy named Ohmae!"

"Then we just have to find out where this Ohmae guy is and put our plan into action!" said Mami, a wide grin on her face.

Fuuta nodded, his expression serious. "Does everyone know what we're supposed to do?" The two girls nodded. "Good, because we have to take revenge for the way they treated Tsuna-nii! No one gets to mess with our nii-chan except for Reborn!"

"Right!" said Mami and Uni in unison.

Then, after a moment, Mami raised her hand, wanting to ask her a question and Fuuta, being the ring leader, nodded his permission.

"U-umm, why do we actually have to talk to him? Can't we just go up to him and put our plan into action right away?"

Fuuta immediately shook his head, saying, "Remember Tsuna-nii's hyper intuition? If we do that, he'll know we're lying."

Realization dawned on the redhead's face and she nodded to show that she had understood.

And with that, the little trio set off, expertly navigating their way through the mansion without getting lost or being seen.

Eventually, they found Reborn and with a few well-placed questions, they found out that their target, the Ohmae guy, was with Ryohei and five others in the Orange Room.

In less than five minutes, the three had found their way to the Orange Room and upon arriving, they immediately found their target, thanks to Reborn having generously shown them a picture of what Ohmae looked like.

Fuuta, Uni, and Mami shared one last glance, as if wishing each other well, before approaching the boy, who was sitting grumpily on one of the comfortable orange sofas as his group mates milled around, exploring the room.

The three waved hello to Ryohei as they passed him, the teen not even asking what they were doing, and stopped a few steps away from Ohmae, who glared at them when he saw them.

"What do you brats want?" asked the teen, obviously upset for one reason or another.

Fuuta just shrugged, asking, "Why do you hate Tsu-nii so much?"

The older male just glared at him and the girls, spitting out, "Because he's a weak and useless brat that has no business being alive. If he were to suddenly disappear one day, no one would notice it. So why shouldn't I hate him?"

"Hey! That's not true!" interjected Uni.

"Yeah! Tsu-nii is like a second onii-sama for me!" added in Mami.

"And I'm sure more people would notice that he was gone than if you were to disappear!"

"Oh yeah? Like who?" asked Ohmae.

"His parents for one," started Fuuta.

"His guardians," added Mami.

"Us," was Uni's answer.

"The ninth generation," continued Mami.

"The entire mafia world," said Uni.

"And eventually the whole world," Fuuta said, "Because the Vongola would proceed to tear up everything in their path to find him. There would be an international man-hunt for the one that kidnapped him and they would face the most terrifying death possible at the hands of Kyo-nii and Muku-nii, and the rest of Tsuna-nii's guardians."

"Tsu-nii is one of the most powerful people in the entire world," said Mami in an almost haughty voice.

"He could have an entire country destroyed with the snap of a finger," explained Uni. "Do you really think it wise to bully him like you've been doing?"

Ohmae's face drained of all colour at what Uni said, but after a few moment's silence, he slapped a smirk on his face and said in a voice that barely escaped shaking, "Ha! What would little brats like you know? And what's with the mafia business again? You shouldn't lie to your elders, you know."

"We're not lying!" shouted the three in unison, and for just a second, Ohmae looked taken aback.

Then, his brows furrowed and he said, "You better learn to show the proper respect, you stupid little brats or one day, you'll end up in a sticky situation that your beloved Tuna-nii won't be able to save you from."

The kids stared at him for a moment, then the two girls turned to look at Fuuta.

"Good enough?" asked Mami.

Fuuta shrugged, saying, "Good enough."

And then, without another word, the three kids took deep breaths, leaving Ohmae confused as to what they were about to do.

Each of the kids threw the boy one last, mischievous look before they started wailing at the top of their lungs, crocodile tears pouring down their faces like rain.

* * *

><p>The crying was heard throughout the entire mansion, and even Mukuro and his group, several floors below them, could hear it loud and clear.<p>

When the sound reached his ears, Mukuro immediately knew what it was, and his face lit up in a kind of psychotic glee.

"The kids are crying, the kids are crying!" he sang cheerfully, turning and heading towards the door that would lead them to the source of the crying.

"HURRY UP!" he barked at his group, his expression making them jump in fright, before it was replaced with his crazy grin again.

As the six Nami-chuu students, still wearing the branks, hurried after their terrifying guide, they could hear him talking quietly to himself.

"Kufufufufu, I can't believe someone was stupid enough to make the kids cry again! It's been years since that last happened! And it's not just one of them this time, either! It's three! Kufufu, this is going to be a spectacular explosion!"

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><p>SkyGem: Lol, I had so much fun writing this chapter! Anyways, please do leave a review and let me know what you thought, ne? Ciao!<p> 


	12. Too Far

The meeting between the Vongola, Shimon, and Giglio Nero was just wrapping up when the sound of three crying children tore through the air.

Lambo had just gotten out of his seat, grumbling about how unfair it was that Tsuna got to leave early while he had to stay behind with "the demon and the octopus," but when he heard the crying, his eyes widened, and immediately, the boy's mood lifted.

"Yatta!" he shouted, "Lambo-sama gets to see Tsuna-nii maim someone!"

And with that, he latched onto Hayato, who ignored him in favour of running towards the source of the crying; even the fiercely loyal storm guardian enjoyed seeing his boss get angry (since that anger was never directed at him). Not to mention the fact that it was probably one of their stupid classmates that got him angry; this made the upcoming explosion all the more enjoyable.

The adults all looked at each other upon hearing the crying and after a moment's silence, Dino shrugged, saying, "I've got nothing better to do, so I'm going to watch the show."

"Ah! We'll come too, Dino-nii!" said Enma, he and his guardians following after the older male.

And slowly, everyone filed out of the room to head towards the source of the crying.

Now, an outsider would probably wonder why none of the Shimon or the Giglio Nero seemed upset that Uni and Mami were crying, but the very fact that they weren't rushing to the scene of the crying showed just how upset they were, even if their expressions were carefully controlled.

Every single one of them knew what happened when Tsuna got mad, and they also knew that if they were to participate, they would get in his way. So they would just leave him to do whatever damage he deemed appropriated.

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><p>When the sound of Fuuta, Uni, and Mami's crying reached Tsuna's ears, his mind completely blanked out for a moment in anger. He immediately knew there was a cause for that crying, and whoever was responsible would be answering to him.<p>

As the young Decimo headed calmly to the Orange Room, everyone he met quickly vacated his path, terrified of getting in his way.

When Tsuna finally arrived at the scene, he walked into the Orange Room to a storm of cheering, and as he looked around, he realized that pretty much everyone in the mansion except for the servants were here.

Mukuro was sitting on the floor quietly, munching on some popcorn, while six terrified students wearing branks sat several feet behind him, looking terrified. Tsuna, already in hyper dying will mode, filed this observation away for later.

Sitting on either side of Mukuro were Chrome and Lambo, sharing his popcorn with him, which he didn't really seem to mind while Chrome's group were off on the other side of the room with the rest of the Nami-chuu students sans Ohmae and the ones in Mukuro's group.

Kyoya was standing off in one corner, an expectant gleam in his eyes while the rest of the guardians sat on a comfy orange sofa not too far from Mukuro and the others.

Dino was sitting with his back against a wall and his guards scattered around him, all watching Tsuna expectantly and nibbling away at a bag of popcorn similar to Mukuro's.

The Shimon, the Vongola Ninth and his guardians, and the Giglio Nero were all scattered casually around the room, sitting on sofas.

The Varia had claimed one corner of the room, and everyone had given them a wide berth.

Finally, Tsuna's eyes came to rest on Ohmae, who was standing in the middle of the room and looking around fearfully, with Fuuta, Mami, and Uni still standing in front of him, crying loudly.

Tsuna approached them slowly, his eyes fixed on Ohmae, and when he was only a few steps away, the children's sobs quieted down and they all ran to him, hugging the brunet around the waist and burying their faces in his clothes, sniffling pitifully.

Tsuna gently patted them all on the head once before asking, "What happened?"

Fuuta was the first to speak, saying, "W-we just wanted t-to talk to t-that onii-san o-over there, b-but he was b-being mean a-and calling u-us names!"

"H-he called us s-stupid b-brats!" said Uni between her sobs.

Tsuna's anger was steadily building, and when Mami said her line, he completely lost it.

"A-and he threatened u-us by saying th-that one day, w-we'll end u-up in a s-s-sticky s-situation!"

Keeping a tight rein on his anger, Tsuna gently nudged the kids in the directions of their respective Families, with Fuuta going over to sit in Chrome's lap.

Fixing his eyes on Ohmae, who was doing his best not to pee in his pants, Tsuna called, "Mukuro!"

"Hai, Juudaime-sama?" asked the older male expectantly, causing Tsuna to frown a little at the title.

"I need a long wooden stake a foot or so taller than Ohmae-san and some rope. Illusions should be fine, since he won't be able to see through them."

"Hai, hai!" replied the extremely giddy mist guardian as he got to work creating the right illusions, having already guessed what was about to happen.

Sitting on the chair that one of his guardians had brought for him, Tsuna smiled sweetly at Ohmae, who was currently being tied to the stake, and said, "It's a good thing my carpets are flame resistant! Wouldn't want them to be damaged, now would we?"

Ohmae's expression grew even more terrified as he heard this, and the Nami-chuu students began muttering disbelievingly to each other, looking more and more worried for their classmate.

"Y-you can't do this to me!" shouted Ohmae, and Tsuna let out a chuckle.

"I can do whatever I want, because I have a little something called a lawyer! Terribly useful things they are to have when you're involved with the mafia!" said the brunet cheerfully, and for the first time since they'd arrived, the students really believed the one they'd been calling Dame-Tsuna all this time was involved in the mafia.

When Mukuro was finally done tying Ohmae to the stake with his illusions, Tsuna got up and walked around Ohmae, using his dying will flames to cast a ring of flames around the boy. The flames were far enough away from the boy that he didn't catch on fire, but close enough that the temperature was almost unbearably hot for him.

Getting back to his chair, the young Decimo sat back down and locked eyes with his classmate.

"Now, let's have a little chat, Ohmae-san. Just you and I, okay? You see, I've withstood your bullying for so long because I know that even though you're a pathetic excuse for a human being, your life still means something, and it would be wrong of me to drag you into a world you don't want to belong to. But now that you've threatened Fuuta, Mami, and Uni, well, you've gone just a tad bit too far!"

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><p>SkyGem: Lol, sorry to cut it off just when it's getting good, but it'll give you something to look forward to for next time ^^. Anyways, please do leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter! And now I'm off to write the next chapter of "Dear Maestra" because I really am anxious to get started on the next chapter of my new fic XD. If any of y'all haven't read it yet, please check it out, ne? Ciao!<p> 


	13. Trainee Recruits

As Reborn sat quietly beside Nezu-sensei in one corner, he watched Tsuna with a barely visible proud smirk on his face. He'd taught his student well.

The infant hitman suppressed a short laugh when he noticed that the stupid Ohmae brat had wet himself and focused his attention on his secretly sadistic student, who had started talking again.

"You know, I think we should have a little heart-to-heart," said Tsuna suddenly, not even acknowledging the fact that Ohmae's skin was starting to flush red from the heat. "I'll start by telling you a little about myself and my Family! You see, my great-great-great grandfather started this Family as a vigilante group, but it wasn't long before they became a part of the mafia! During Grandpa Giotto's time, it was all well and good, the Vongola had a great reputation, but that all changed when his cousin Ricardo took over."

Despite their growing horror at what was happening, most of Tsuna's classmates were listening to the tale with rapt attention, and Reborn felt even more pride well up within him. Even when being downright terrifying, his student still had a kind of charisma that just drew people to him, that made them hang onto his word.

"You see, under our Nidaime's rule, the Vongola became known as the bloodiest and most ruthless Family in all of Italy and it wasn't long before we had the title of most powerful Family under our belt as well."

As all the students' and Nezu's eyes widened at this, Reborn took note that Ohmae looked about ready to faint, and not just from the heat either.

"And while I am trying to change our reputation of being ruthless, it would do you well to remember that you _are_ in a mafia household and that personal insults and/or threats to anyone within this household will not be taken to kindly…especially towards our kids."

Due to Reborn's exceptional vision, he could make out that heat blisters were already beginning to form on Ohmae's skin, which showed just how hot Tsuna's flames must have been. Tsuna, though having probably noticed it as well, didn't even bring notice to his captive's worsening physical condition.

"Our kids may be better able to defend themselves defensively than the average child, but they are still children, and not to mention that they are still emotionally immature as well. Lowering their self-esteem is almost worse than attacking them physically. And not to mention that they're our future. What they do with their lives in the future will be our legacy…whether that be within the mafia, or not. Have you understood what I have told you?"

Ohmae didn't reply, merely turning his head away, and the mafioso in the room had to marvel at how infinitely stupid this boy was proving to be. It was obvious he was scared of Tsuna at the moment –believe you me, they all were – because this calm, quiet fury was much, much worse than when Tsuna shouted at them. It was only at times like these that one really, truly, understood completely that sweet, adorable Tsuna had been raised by mafioso; mafioso that adored and respected him for a reason.

Having grown tired of this little game, Tsuna raised his hand and shot out a ball of flames that singed Ohmae's hair and came dangerously close to his face.

"Am I understood?" asked Tsuna again, and this time, he received emphatic nodding in reply. "Good."

And, much to the disappointment of everyone else, the brunet stood up from his chair and extinguished his flames, causing Ohmae to sigh in relief.

But unlike everyone had anticipated, Tsuna didn't untie his poor victim, who looked dangerously close to dehydrating from all the sweating he'd done.

No, he brought up his hands in a _very_ familiar stance and proceeded to encase Ohmae's full body in ice using Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition.

When that was done, Tsuna promptly turned to stroll out of the room, but stopped and turned to face his sun guardian, saying, "Onii-san, please unfreeze him with your flames before his frostbite scars get **too** bad, and be ready to treat him once he's unfrozen."

"Hai, Sawada!"

"And let this be a lesson to everyone else not to mess with my family," were Tsuna's last words before the really did leave the room.

The Nami-chuu students, along with their sensei, were well and truly terrified, but Mukuro looked a little disappointed.

"Why…? Why didn't he do _more_?" asked the pineapple head in a genuinely heartbroken voice, and Chrome just patted him gently on the arm.

"That's the most Bossu could do, considering he's not a part of the mafia…"

Lambo as well looked pretty put out that he hadn't seen any blood and guts, but was distracted with the promise of sweets later.

As everyone slowly filed out of the room with varying degrees of disappointment and satisfaction, some kindly asked for Ryohei to inform them before he unfroze Ohmae, wanting to be there when it happened. They probably wanted to rub salt in the wound…or get their own revenge on the boy.

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><p>By the time lunch rolled around maybe half an hour later, Tsuna had calmed down somewhat, but it was pretty obvious he was still upset.<p>

Reborn, though, completely cleared that up with an announcement that made even Tsuna want to murder the baby for what was probably another of his nefarious plots to ruin the brunet's life.

"I understand," started the baby soon after everyone had finished eating, "That the students wish to return home."

When this statement drew eager nods from the students of 2-A, Tsuna frowned.

It wasn't that his classmates wanted to leave; no, that was actually rather good news.

No, the reason Tsuna frowned was because of the grin on Reborn's face.

"Well, unfortunately, seeing as it is only the second day since you all arrived here, and no one expected such a thing, it will take at least a month before we are able to return you to your home country."

The students all let out defeated groans and terrified squeaks when they heard that, but Tsuna just kept watching Reborn, sure that the infant wasn't done yet. And he was right, because the next moment, Reborn continued.

"And it just so happens, that near the end of that month, the Vongola have a very important party to host."

Tsuna's face drained of all colour as he realized what Reborn was planning. "He isn't…" he whispered to himself.

"So I have decided that, for everyone's safety, you are all to attend that party as trainee recruits. Practice starts right after lunch."

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><p>SkyGem: Lol, sorry guys. I realize I've probably let a lot of you down, but it's not like I can make Tsuna do any worse DX. I mean, the kid's one of his classmates. Anyways, I hope that little bit near the end mollifies y'all a bit, ne? Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! Ciao!<p> 


	14. Resolve

Enoki Eru wasn't stupid.

He knew that he and his classmates were not, in any way, shape, or form, welcome at this mansion.

He had known it the moment he had stepped through its large double doors, and all eyes had turned on them. He had seen it in the way the servants whispered behind their hands and cast loathful looks upon them.

His classmates hadn't noticed it, as they'd been too busy marvelling at the beauty of the place.

What he hadn't known was why.

At least, not until Sawada Tsunayoshi had stepped through the dining room door, and had announced that he was the heir to this great fortune. And suddenly, everything had clicked into place.

And Eru couldn't find it in himself to be too surprised.

There had always been something...off about Sawada Tsunayoshi.

As if his clumsiness were a costume that didn't quite fit correctly.

But if there was one thing that was absolutely not fake about Sawada, it was his kindness - he was genuinely a very good person, and Eru had no idea how the rest of their classmates (the rest of the _schoolmates_ in fact) could be so mean to him.

Not that he was one to talk.

He was such a coward, he had never said a single nice thing to Sawada, for fear that he would be lumped together with him.

And maybe that was why he was trying so hard now.

He was trying so hard his lungs were burning and his heart was beating frantically.

Lunch had ended an hour ago, and although they had been given some time to rest in order to avoid cramps, Boreen-sensei, or rather the one everyone aroudn here called "Reborn", had wasted no time.

They had been running non-stop for about ten minutes now, and this was somehow only supposed to be considered a warm-up.

He was terrified to see what the actual training would be like.

But at the same time he was almost...excited?

No, that wasn't the right word.

Relieved, maybe?

That was probably it.

He felt somewhat relieved.

Because he knew it didn't really make any sense, but there was a small part of him that hoped that, if he worked hard enough, he could maybe begin to redeem himself.

Eru was so deeply engrossed in these thoughts of shame and redemption, he almost didn't notice the person that had dropped back to run alongside him.

"Enoki-san?" asked a familiar voice, and Eru almost had a heart attack when he noticed that the person that had dropped back to run with him was Sawada Tsuanyoshi.

The brunet was watching Eru with an almost worried expression, and although he had been running for just as long as Eru an the others, he had barely worked up a sweat.

Eru couldn't help but wonder what kind of mosnter he had to be.

"Is there something wrong, Sawada?" asked Enoki between gasping for air, and Sawada's eyebrows furrrowed a bit.

"That's what I shoudl be asking you," replied Tsunayoshi, is voice worried. "You're not having trouble breathing?"

"Breathing?" asked Eru, feeling slightly bemused. "Why would I have trouble breathing?"

Sawada's face flushed red at the question, and he looked down, mumbling something.

"Come again?" Eru said, not hearing properly.

"I just remembered you had asthma when we were younger, is all, and I just wanted to make sure that you were alright," repeated Tsuna, his face red as a tomato as he continued to stubbornly not meet Eru's eyes.

Eru stared at the boy, so completely flabbergasted, he almost stopped running.

Asthma?

"You...you remember?" he asked, completely blown away. "But...I haven't had an asthma attack since our last year of elementary school!"

Tsuna shrugged, finally looking up shyly to meet Eru's gaze.

"Better safe than sorry," he said.

Eru stared for a few seconds more, feeling completely blown away. After all these years, Sawada Tsunayoshi had remembered him?

And then, realizing that Sawada was still waiting for an answer, Eru shook his head to clear it.

"I'm alright," he insisted, smiling at Sawada.

After that, as Sawada left to check up on some other people, Eru felt a glow of warmth towards his smaller classmate.

Sawada really was a genuinely good person.

And so, right then and there, as he re-played the scene in his mind, Enoki Eru resolved to never stand by passively and let others insult Sawada in his resence.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a great man.

* * *

><p>As expected of a tutor of his caliber, Reborn was sitting at a good vantage point to watch the students of Tsunayoshi's class, judging teir athletic abilities and thinking up more effective training schedules for them<p>

Out of the corner of his eye, the small hitman noticed that his stuent had slipped from the front of the class, where he and his guardians were supposed to be leading the class in the exercise.

Now, his Dame student was having a whispered conversation with the slightly nerdy boy, probably reassuring him that he could complete the exercise.

Reborn smirked as he saw the classmate watch after his student as Tsuna went back ahead to his place.

Tsuna had always had that special charisma that just drew people to him.

So this development? Not really out of the ordinary.

What really caught the hitman's attention, however, was the sudden burst of storm flames down on the track.

And the flames belonged to...

_**Enoki Eru.**_

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><p>SkyGem: Holy shit! Can you guys believe it? First time in over three years that I've updated it! I somehow unconsciously kept postponing this chapter because, in the past years, my writing style has changed so much from what it was when I started this, I was having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. But here it is! Please do review and let me know what you thought, and look forward to next chapter! Hopefully it won't take nearly as long, as it's going to be quite an interesting one. Well, that's it for now! Ciao!<p> 


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